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ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A century-old St. Paul woman died unexpectedly after a police car backed into her.

The incident took place last Friday evening after authorities were called out to a call related to a juvenile on the 800 block of Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul.

A squad car backed up at a “very slow speed,” according to police, while leaving the area and hit the woman, who fell to the ground.

On Thursday, 101-year-old Roza Sakhina died.

A fan of flowers, she spent much of her days outside.

Diane Reich was a friend of Sakhina’s and, a fan. That all started in the laundry room.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t I just help her with it,” Reich said. “And when I bent over to do that, she patted me on the head. She goes, ‘I love you.’ And I was like instant friends with her at some point.”

Despite the bond, few words were ever exchanged. Sakhina spoke Russian. Reich said Sakhina walked every day, and that’s how she spent one of her last.

“I halfway expected she could come back from that,” Reich said. “I was hoping, anyway … she was a big contribution even though she didn’t say anything.”

The officer who hit Sakhina was placed on leave after the accident.

But that officer is now back at work.

The St. Paul Police Department said the incident is still under investigation and is being looked at by the department’s official in accident reconstruction.